Rep. Matt Gaetz pushes Syria pullout after troops, dog hurt in ISIS raid

WASHINGTON – Far-right Rep. Matt Gaetz is calling for an end to the US military mission in Syria after four troops and a working dog were injured during a raid to take out a senior ISIS figure last week.

Despite US forces having killed two terror leaders and captured another in recent days, Gaetz (R-Fla.) introduced a bill on Tuesday that would use the War Powers Act to direct President Biden to withdraw all service members from the war-torn Middle Eastern country.

“Congress has never authorized the use of military force in Syria,” Gaetz, 40, said in a statement on Wednesday. “The United States is currently not in a war with or against Syria, so why are we conducting dangerous military operations there?”

“America First means actually putting the people of our country first — not the interests of the Military Industrial Complex,” Gaetz added.

The recent spate of US military activity in Syria began with two separate raids on Feb. 16 that led to the deaths of senior ISIS leader Hamza al-Homsi and an unidentified assassination cell leader, US Central Command said Friday.

Four US commandos and their working dog were hurt when al-Homsi, who oversaw the group’s activities in Syria, detonated an explosive vest as the Americans closed in and attempted to capture him alive.

Two days later, on Feb. 18, American troops captured a top ISIS leader known only as “Batar,” who was “involved in planning attacks on [Syrian]-guarded detention centers and manufacturing improvised explosive devices,” according to CENTCOM.

By invoking the War Powers Act in his legislation, Gaetz has effectively forced Congress to take up a vote on the matter by mid-March. The law, intended to provide checks on the president’s power to send the military into conflict without congressional approval, requires Congress to consider such resolutions within 18 days of their introduction.

If passed, the legislation would require Biden to withdraw all US troops from Syria no later than 15 days after Congress’ decision.

An estimated 900 US troops are currently in Syria, focused on supporting the rebel Syrian Democratic Forces.

Gaetz told Fox News Digital Wednesday that he hoped to gain bipartisan support for his resolution.

“I’m sort of looking for where the anti-war coalition currently resides in the Congress. Is it more on the right, is it more on the left? Is it some amalgamation thereof?” he said. “But this resolution will test who is truly adherent to what I believe is America First foreign policy and who continues to believe in Middle Eastern adventurism.”

The US began cracking down on ISIS in Syria in a series of raids last year despite Washington’s reduced footprint in the Middle East following the US pullout from Afghanistan in August 2021. While the terror group’s so-called “caliphate” in Syria and Iraq was rolled back in March 2019, the group retains sleeper cells in the region.

US troops conducted four major raids on the group in 2022, resulting in the deaths of four ISIS terrorists, including the group’s top leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Quraishi, senior leader Maher al-Agal, Syrian province official Anas and weapons smuggler Rakkan Wahid al-Shammari.